About Me

Thursday, November 30, 2006

What do you get when you cross three inch heels, a cell phone, a dark parking lot, a distracted girl, and a crack in the sidewalk hidden by a pile of leaves?

One nasty sprain. That's what you get. Stuck on the couch on a wednesday night, which incidently is possibly the WORST night to be parked in front of the television because there is nothing good on, watching your poor little foot swell up like a puffer-fish.

So much for running off that four day calorie fest we call "Thanksgiving vacation".

Monday, November 27, 2006

The problem with having four delightful Thanksgiving guests who you love and adore come to your house for four delightful days is that when they leave, your house feels awfully empty.I don't think anyone can really blame you if you sit in your room and sift through photos and listen to late eighties George Michael and shed a tear or two.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

When I was a little girl I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up. Then I got to high school and decided I wanted to be an actress. Then I got to college and studies Advertisting and Public Relations because it seemed like a cool and sophisticated profession and a way for someone with a creative brain to actually pay the bills.

So now I'm a grown up and I'm not a veterinarian, and I'm not an actress and when someone asked me to explain my five year plan in my industry I wasn't sure how to answer.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

I like movies. Alot. But recently movies have mostly done a good job of disappointing me. I think in the last six months only Little Miss Sunshine has managed to make me glad I went to the theater.

But the trailers for Stranger than Fiction made big promises-a premise that sounded intriguing, a stellar cast and a soundtrack by Spoon. My hopes were high.

I am happy to report, and now intend to spread the word, that this movie is a sheer delight on all counts.

Part of what I loved about this movie is that all the characters are essentially good people. Flawed, but really good. I feel like I go to alot of movies and watch alot of TV with characters I would never ever want to meet in real life. But I really cared about everyone in this movie. And I loved the way they cared about one another. There was an underlying kindness in this film that put me in tears practically from the beginning.

The writing was beautiful as well. It's hard to write movie dialogue that manages to make you feel like you are actually reading a book. Every word seemed to be carefully picked. And because the narration was done by the effortlessly amazing Emma Thompson and her delectable British accent, well, it sent little shivers down my literature loving spine.

All the performances were nearly flawless-Dustin Hoffman was a pleasure to watch as always, Emma Thompson is awesome, Maggie Gyllenhaal is so endearing. But it was Will Ferrell who really stole my heart. When he is not being a complete goof (and trust me, I like some goofy Will Ferrell), he has a sweetness and a vulnerability I think alot of actors cannot pull off. And because he pulls it off so well, you can understand why everyone else in the movie is so affected by this sort of vanilla-seeming IRS agent.

At the risk of sounding overly cliche-this movie made me laugh and it made me cry and it even made me think a little. If I were to hear narration of my own life, what parts would seem absurd to me and what changes might I make so it reads a little bit better?

Anyway, I saw it saturday and here it is wednesday and I still feel a bit glowy about it. If you don't already have weekend plans-I suggest that you do now.

Monday, November 13, 2006

My sister posted this picture from my college graduation over on another site I frequent and it almost made me burst into tears.From left to right we have Christopher who now owns a house and has a wife, Elizabeth who sews her own clothes and kisses boys and goes to high school, me, Emily who makes sure taglines look good on Sony video games and runs marathons and organizes benefits, and Logan who is at least four feet taller and is saving souls in the Phillipines but still has that same sweet face. And Sterling, who helped make Maryland safe for democracy in last week's big election was missing that day. But he shares a face with us so, I feel like he's there somewhere.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Last night a ticket to the Dixie Chicks sort of fell into my lap. I am not a rabid fan but I almost never say no to live music. Also, I had seen the girls on Oprah a few weeks ago talking about their new movie "Shut Up and Sing" and was curious to see who was showing up to their concerts these days.

The group I was with had all kind of things to say about the big controversy over what the lead singer had said about the president and the backlash that followed. I'll admit, when I first heard the clips from that show I was bugged. I am always annoyed when I pay $50 to hear someone's music and they think I really care what their mostly ridiculous political views are. But the longer it has dragged on, and the more people act as though there is something unpatriotic about expressing frustration with an inept President, the more I want to tatoo the Dixie Chicks logo on my forehead in solidarity. I love living in a country where we absolutely get to think and feel whatever we want and what's more, we can say it publicly. Natalie Maines doesn't hate America, she is frustrated with an administration that has nothing but mess things up since they got into office. After this week's elections, it looks like maybe she was just saying what plenty of people were thinking.

But this isn't really supposed to be a political rant. Whether or not I agree with what she said isn't actually the point. Last night when the show started, and these three beautiful, confident, immensely talented women come out on stage like they owned the place, I got incredibly emotional. Oprah had asked the other two members of the group if they ever wished Natalie hadn't said what she said and one of them responded, "you don't even think about that. We're family and when one of us gets attacked, you protect her. You don't worry about what she should have done, you just circle the wagons and take care of each other." The decision to stick by her comments hasn't been great for their reputation or their album sales. But I admire the heck out of the courage it takes to stand up for what you believe in even when it's not what the folks around you want to hear. As Natalie's voice was giving me goosebumps and Emily and Martie played a game of "watch how many instruments I can play and still harmonize like it's no big deal", I thought about the CMA awards this week and the drivel that won while these freakishly talented women didn't get so much as a mention. But then you look at them, doing the thing they love, with their very best friends, husbands and seven kids between them running around backstage, the courage and integrity to be themselves in and out of the public eye and I think, these are the kind of women I hope I can be when I grow up.

The highlight of the night though was when they played a song off their new album called "Long Way Around" and some of the lyrics snapped into focus a bunch of things that have been floating in my head for the last year or so

"Well, I never seem to do it like anybody elseMaybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle downIf you ever want to find me I can still be found

Taking the long wayTaking the long way around"

I guess I've fallen into the trap of thinking that because I fall a little bit outside the lines of your typical Mormon girl that somehow I've messed up. All of the sudden it became really clear that taking the long way is not wrong, it's just another choice. In my heart I think I already knew that but my brain has been doing a really number on me lately. The order of things, the amount of time you spend in a job, the places you move, the heartaches you choose to enter into, the friendships you hang onto-those aren't a matter of right or wrong. My good friend Mike told me that turning 30 was what finally set him free of all the unreasonable expections of "order" leftover from the lists we make in high school. I'm tearing mine up as we speak.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

I'm back in Portland this week to spend four days talking ad nauseum about the exercise and buying habits of thirtysomething females. We have had these discussions quarterly since I started at this company four and a half years ago and although I thoroughly enjoy the process of creating a positioning statement and dissecting ad campaign comps, sometimes it also makes my head explode for a few days. So before I get completely sick to death of anything related to health/fitness/women/running/confidence/me time/head clearing/mind/body/spirit/blah/blah/blah I figure I will finally post some photos from the half marathon and be done with it! After going to bed relatively early on Saturday night, Corey and I got up around 5:30 to get ready and walk over to the starting line. We took this photo and then I gave up the camera and blackberry normally surgically attached to my hands so I could just enjoy the run. And enjoy it I did. I already droned on about the run itself a few posts back. Now I would just like you to concentrate on the fact that nothing looks better after a 13 mile run then firefighters in tuxedos holding little blue boxes from Tiffany's. Nike really nailed it with these finisher necklaces. The FIRST question I get when I tell anyone I ran this race is "did you get the Tiffany's necklace???". Maybe it's easy to be a marketing genius when money is no object but I'll give them major points for finding something that really resonates with that female consumer. And then served up on a platter by a hot guy? Yeah, pretty good idea swoosh. Emily met me at the finish line where I took the first of many, many unflattering photos of myself. I ran into Betsy who was sporting the awesome post race blankies. She ran the half as well which is why although we have had cuter days, we also don't look like are about to die. Oh but neither did Corey and she DID run the whole thing. I have another photo of us being slightly more honest about how we felt about the course but-this is not an R-rated blog. We walked back to the car-some of us frontwards and some of us trying to baby our quads. We hit the showers and rested up a bit and then headed to lunch where we obeyed my post race EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT rule. A plate of garlic fries, huge burgers and so much Diet Coke later, we headed back to the Kane's to pack up. Even though what we really wanted to do was lie in a heap on their couch for the rest of the day.

Monday, November 06, 2006

It's hard to believe it's November already. Hard to believe I've been back in California for almost a year. Hard to believe how much life can change in a matter of months.

Since it's nearly Thanksgiving, and since I feel like I am getting reminders from all sides that gratitude is one of the keys to a happy life-I though I would share a few of the reasons I am so grateful for the state I live in.

1. The weather. As I sit here, the sunlight streaming through my bedroom window is making it difficult to read the screen. Bless you annoying sunshine. I never got enough of you when I lived in Boston. It's 70 degrees outside with a light breeze off the ocean. I'm not sure I could ever get tired of days like this one. And lovely California, they seem to be just about all you know how to do.

2. Proximity. Salt Lake is close. Close enough to drive, close enough for plane tickets to be reasonably priced. Close enough for surprise birthday visitors, for weekends in St. George, for sibling Thanksgivings, and the whole family getting to welcome Logan home in January.

3. The peeps. I have said before and I'll say again-the friends I made in Boston were golden. But how hilarious is it that since I left, two of them moved to SF, one to Texas, one to Utah and one came here to HB. And quite a few of my remaining favorites have West Coast ties. Birds of a feather or whatever.

4. The beach. I never ever get tired of the beach. Every Saturday morning I go for a long run down by the water and every single time I want to cry because I love it so much. I love it during the day, I love it at night, I love watching it, I love being in it, I love the way it smells, I love the way it sounds, I love it when it's sunny, I love it when it's stormy. I love watching children and dogs try to make friends with it. I love it when it's full of surfers and when the sun sets over it. I feel incredibly lucky to live four blocks away from it and that I get to see it pretty much every day.

There is a little part of my soul that is slightly disappointed in myself for loving it here so much. That part sort of wishes that I was a sophisticated city girl living it up in Manhattan. And when I am actuallly IN Manhattan I can usually channel her and I start thinking I should give it a shot. Then I land at John Wayne airport and open the sunroof on PCH and stop for a fish taco and I realize I'm home.

As is often the case with me, I have a song to describe how I feel about this place. This band was a recommendation from a friend of a friend. They are from Salt Lake and after looking at their My Space page, it turns out the drummer is an old friend from a zillion lifetimes ago. I'm glad I only heard this song recently. If I had known it in Boston I just might have lost my mind.Enjoy!

Friday, November 03, 2006

I've mentioned before that one thing I love about my job is that from time to time I have projects that give me a chance to hire talented friends of mine. It's so much fun to work with people I already know and like and to be able give them a chance to build their portfolios. When our website needed a refresh on imagery, I was lucky enough to get my friend Mark to shoot it. I think perhaps the idea of spending two days taking pictures of pretty girls in workout clothes might have contributed to his willingness to take the job. Whatever it was, I was glad he could make some time between shooting snowboarders and the likes of Kevin Federline to do my girly project.

So I'll just admit it-I am incredibly jealous of people with artistic/design talents. I just think they see the world in a different way and I'm totally fascinated by it. For instance, I was standing right there in the studio all day and what I saw was thisHere is what Mark sawAnd here is what he saw in the grand total of 10 minutes we spent trying to get a quick shot before anyone hassled us about a permit. (this was actually not the first time that happened on a work shoot)Obviously it turned out to be a fabulous shoot-even my super picky apparel director loved the images. I had way too much fun, bonded with all the models and really enjoyed watching Mark work. It's fun when a guy who throws you in the swimming pool and makes your stomach hurt with his South Park voices also happens to have a real live grown up talent. And all the better if it ends up making me looking totally awesome for hiring him!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

So about six months ago, my friend Jaime decided that in honor of a year of 30th birthdays, we should pull together a group of us that used to hang out in college. And the great thing about being adults is that within about two weeks, everyone had made plans and booked tickets to San Francisco. Here we have Jaime, Jenny, me, Kathie, Mary and Jenny Fully 2/3 of the photos I came home with were taken across a table. We did alot of eating. Eating and shopping and laughing. Mary and Jennie are both complete pros at that whole laughing thing.And if we weren't eating, we were walking. And looking sassy. We went to Ghiradelli's for treats and in a dining room full of kids and parents, we were the only table wearing these awesome hats. I don't know what's wrong with people. Six women, three sundaes-they never had a prayer.We had dinner at this really fun Italian place one night and Jenny told everyone how old we were. After about 10 trips to San Francisco, I finally rode the cable car. Despite my sometimes snotty attitude toward touristy stuff, it was actually quite fun.We took lots of goofy picturesand crowded around to look at themWe hit on this guy. OK really though, how cute are we?

The weekend went my much too quickly of course but I am delighted to report that we had as much fun now as we did all those years ago at school. We reminded each other of crazy experiences I haven't thought about in YEARS-crushes I had forgotten all about, embarrassing stories, updates of old roommates and sorority sisters. It was exactly the kind of weekend you hope you'll have one day when you are a sitting in the cafeteria our freshman year with no one to talk to.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

I am sitting in a hotel room in Portland and while technically I have loads of time to upload photos, I really just want to crawl in bed. Lately I have been sleeping way more than normal. If this keeps up for another week I might worry. Right now I'm blaming it on the time change.